A new clinical trial finds that psilocybin therapy may offer a more powerful remedy for negative thought patterns in people with major depressive disorder than the commonly prescribed antidepressant escitalopram.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of California analyzed data from a randomized, controlled study comparing two high-dose psilocybin therapy sessions to six weeks of daily escitalopram, with the results published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology. Both groups included patients with major depressive disorder, but the psilocybin group showed significantly greater improvements across several cognitive measures tied to depression.
Six weeks after treatment, the psilocybin group reported a substantial boost in optimism, with no comparable change seen in the escitalopram group. Patients given psilocybin were also more likely to expect positive future events and reported a notable reduction in dysfunctional attitudes, including self-critical beliefs and feelings of dependency. Escitalopram, by contrast, led to a more modest reduction and only in the achievement subdomain.
On depression severity, both treatments led to a drop in symptoms, but the psilocybin group experienced a significantly larger decrease. The same pattern was observed in measures of overall psychological well-being.
The researchers say the results highlight psilocybin’s potential to address the cognitive distortions that often perpetuate depression, something many standard antidepressants struggle to correct. The findings support further research into the therapeutic use of psilocybin, particularly for individuals with treatment-resistant depression.
The study’s conclusion section states:
Here we have assessed various measures of negative cognitive bias in patients with major depressive disorder treated with either psilocybin therapy or escitalopram. Psilocybin therapy appeared to have a more robust and comprehensive positive effect on these biases – inspiring inferences on its therapeutic mechanisms and lending further support to efforts to scrutinize its safety and efficacy at greater scale.
The full text of the study can be found here.
